Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST GAY MYSTERY I'VE READ THIS YEAR!
Review: Welcome the return of author Greg Herren with a thrilling new mystery novel, a superb new fictional hero, and what appears to be the first of an exciting and somewhat lighter new series. Last year, he introduced us to Chanse MacLeod in MURDER IN THE RUE DAUPHINE, which was one of last year's best gay works of fiction. (And if you haven't read it yet, buy it along with this new book.) And this year, he tops it with M. (Scotty) Bradley in BOURBON STREET BLUES.Scotty is a buff, boyish personal trainer and part-time exotic bar dancer with a Day-Glo thong stuffed with wet and sweaty currency. ...He's also the personification of gay New Orleans - while he might be a [tramp], but he's not a [tramp]. I fell in love with him immediately - long before he finished his introductory prologue. You should also know that he has a most unusual and loving extended family, and he's somewhat physic. His tarot cards play an important part in the plotting of the action. As to the plot itself, that's really something that you'll enjoy more by discovering it for yourself. Let's just say it combines the gay delight of Southern Decadence weekend with murder, sinister plots, political intrigue, hot-bod boys, mysterious daddies with scars, skinheads, religious fanatics, FBI agents and a few sexual assignations. You know - all the things that make the Big Easy all that it can be. Unfortunately, I also have a minor quibble about the book. The first edition of this book contains an annoying editing or proofing error in the background story of Jeremy. When we first meet him on page 35 we learn that he had mysteriously left New Orleans a year earlier without canceling his scheduled training session with Scotty, and now on reappearing he had shaved his head and gotten an arm band tattoo during his absence. However, when we see him the next day on page 130, we're told that "his hair hadn't been combed and that it looked as if he'd been running his fingers through it a bit to much." And the details on disappearance have be change, too. Now I have always been my own worst proofreader, but surely author or his editosr should have noticed the contradictions in the story. Sure, it's a personal quibble, but it detracts from an otherwise well crafted work. Hopefully, it will be corrected in the many reprints this book deserves. The error and my quibble really don't merit any deduction of points from my ***** rating or from my recommendation of this book. It was a pleasure to read this book (almost nonstop.) And I repeat what I said in my review of his first book; Greg Herren is an extremely talented and promising author, and I look forward to his next book - soon hopefully?
Rating: 
Summary: Did we read the same book?
Review: Yes, it's a bit preposterous that Scotty, a gay go-go boy, has to save New Orleans while only wearing a green thong. It's a great visual, however, and a fitting one for this somewhat silly thriller novel. The bad guys are truly evil, and the good guys are sweet and lovable, so the author succeeds in getting the reader to root for the hero. Anyone who has been to New Orleans' French Quarter will enjoy the setting thoroughly. There are a few loose ends. One character mysteriously wasn't using his real last name - why? What will happen to the politician masterminding New Orleans' destruction? Who's going to be the dominant guy in Scotty's new relationship? Him or the Daddy FBI agent? Oh, the suspense. Perhaps, we'll find out soon enough.
Rating:
Summary: Good beach read
Review: Yes, it's a bit preposterous that Scotty, a gay go-go boy, has to save New Orleans while only wearing a green thong. It's a great visual, however, and a fitting one for this somewhat silly thriller novel. The bad guys are truly evil, and the good guys are sweet and lovable, so the author succeeds in getting the reader to root for the hero. Anyone who has been to New Orleans' French Quarter will enjoy the setting thoroughly. There are a few loose ends. One character mysteriously wasn't using his real last name - why? What will happen to the politician masterminding New Orleans' destruction? Who's going to be the dominant guy in Scotty's new relationship? Him or the Daddy FBI agent? Oh, the suspense. Perhaps, we'll find out soon enough.
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